For daily, down-to-earth discipleship

Why we’re sponges

If you put a sponge in murky water for three minutes, and then take it out and squeeze it, what is going to come out?

Murky water.

And if you put another sponge in pure, clear water for three minutes, and then take it out and squeeze it, what is going to come out?

Pure, clear water.

I say this because you and I are sponges.

We’re powerfully impacted by what’s around us. We absorb things from our environments, the people we interact with, and the values we’re exposed to.

So it can be very easy to start to talk and act in a way that simply reflects our environments, the people we interact with, and the values we’re exposed to.

That’s why you need to be choosy about your choices.

In Colossians 2:8 Paul says, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition… and not according to Christ.”

It’s a warning to keep the eternal and steadfast Christ as your guide… and not the shifting values and opinions of a confused society.

So when you choose to be proactive about the kinds of things you think about, the people you interact with, and the values you have, you’re doing your bit to ensure the water in your bowl is pure and clear.

Is it perfect? No. Can you control every aspect of your day? Of course not! (And don’t even bother trying.) And you’re right, our faith calls us into tough situations and to interact with all sorts of people as we seek to share God’s light.

But one of the reasons we can start feel defeated, and one of the reasons we can get perpetually sucked into ungodly thoughts and actions, is because we’re naïve about how wildly impressionable we porous humans actually are.